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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 09-27-217 of 9 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS – REGULAR MEETING DEPARTMENT REPORT MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 (V) Thrift Residence Variances. The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approvals for a new home: 1. Docket No. PZ-2021-00154 V UDO Section 3.64.C.3 Lot Cover - Maximum 45% lot cover required, 53% requested. 2. Docket No. PZ-2021-00155 V UDO Section 3.64.C.4 Garage Setback - The front face of the garage must be at least 15-ft further from the front lot line than the primary front line of the principal building, 0-ft further requested. 3. Docket No. PZ-2021-00156 V UDO Section 3.64.C.4 Garage Door Orientation - 3 car garages shall only be permitted where the overhead doors are oriented away from a front yard or facing an alley, facing the street requested. 4. Docket No. PZ-2021-00157 V UDO Section 3.64.C.6 Driveway Width - In the front yard driveway widths cannot exceed 18-ft, > 22-ft width requested. 5. Docket No. PZ-2021-00158 V UDO Section 5.78.J Window Wells cannot project more than 24” into a required yard, 42” requested. 6. Docket No. PZ-2021-00159 V UDO Section 3.64.C.11 Maximum 30’ building height allowed, 31’ 9-3/8” requested. The site is located at 141 1st Ave NW (Henry Roberts Addition Lot 3). It is zoned R4/Residence and Old Town Overlay Character Subarea. Filed by John Hefton of the Old Town Design Group, on behalf of Paul M Thrift Trustee Angie H Thrift Rev Trust. General Info & Analysis: The Petitioner seeks approval to build a new 2-story tall single-family home with attached 3-car garage in the Old Town Overlay, Character Subarea. The site is a corner lot with two street frontages, and an unimproved alley right of way exists to the east. The six variance requests relate to lot coverage, garage setback and garage door orientation, driveway width, window well setbacks, and building height. The house exterior architecture design and site plan are also going through administrative Site Plan & Design Review (SDR) as part of the building permit review process. Please see the Petitioner’s informational packet for more detail on the variance requests. Per the Unified Development Ordinance, the Character Sub-Areas consist of the bulk of the residential areas in the Old Town Overlay District, both east and west of Range Line Road, and both residential and commercial properties facing Range Line Road in the north end of the District. There are many different styles of architecture in this area; however, the consistency and character of the neighborhood is worth protecting. The intent of these regulations is to preserve the character of the neighborhood by preserving certain buildings and siting characteristics. Lot Cover Variance Request: The Unified Development Ordinance (UDO Section 3.64.C.3) requires the following for maximum lot coverage for Single-family Residential: 45% of the area of the Lot. The proposed lot cover is 53%. This is a variance of 8%. Things that count towards lot cover are pavement, sidewalks, house footprints, patios, etc. The Petitioner is working with the Carmel Engineering Dept. to address all their grading and drainage comments. The Petitioner will pay the Alley / Stormwater Fee as well, since they will be exceeding the lot coverage requirement and not providing on-site stormwater detention. This fee goes towards stormwater management projects in Old Town, such as permeable alleys that also have underground chambers that temporarily store rainwater. 8 of 9 Garage Setback Variance Request: The Unified Development Ordinance (UDO Section 3.64.C.4) requires that the front face of the garage must be at least 15-ft further from the front lot line than the primary front line of the principal building. 0-ft further is requested from the main façade of the house, and 3 feet back from the Great Room bump out window is proposed. This is more than a 93% decrease in garage setback. Again, this is a corner lot that has two street frontages. The main front façade of the house faces west towards 1st Ave NW, and the secondary front facade of the home will face north towards 2nd Street NW. The Petitioner should explore amending the floor plan so that the driveway and the 3-car garage doors face east towards the alley. Then, the north garage wall will be allowed to be in line with the house front along 2nd Street NW, since it is not a garage door. They can also improve/ pave a small section of the alley area from the garage doors out to 2nd Street NW. Garage Door Orientation Variance Request: The Unified Development Ordinance (UDO Section 3.64.C.4) states that 3 car garages shall only be permitted where the overhead doors are oriented away from a front yard or facing an alley. The Petitioner requests to face their garage doors to the north, facing 2nd Street NW. There is an unimproved alley located adjacent to the east of the lot. The Petitioner should explore amending the floor plan so that the driveway and the garage doors face east towards the alley, and then they can also improve/pave a small section of the alley area from the garage doors out to 2nd Street NW. Planning Staff has no evidence that the Petitioner considered this as design option to try and comply with the UDO. (There are some electric poles and overhead electric lines that run through the alley, however.) Perhaps the floor plan can be amended to only have a 2-car garage. Then, the garage doors will be allowed to face a street. Driveway Width Variance Request: The Unified Development Ordinance (UDO Section 3.64.C.6) requires that driveway widths in the front yard cannot exceed 18-ft. The total driveway width is around 33.5 feet wide (when also including the landscape strips and paver strips). The proposed driveway width that is just solid pavement is 22-ft wide. The proposed driveway depth, from the sidewalk to the garage door, is around 18.4 feet deep. That is good, so that parked vehicles on the driveway do not overhang into the sidewalk area and block pedestrian access along the sidewalk. The variance requests for the driveway and the garage will have a negative effect on the walkability and character of the neighborhood. Imposing garage doors and large parking areas do not create an inviting environment. Perhaps the floor plan can be amended to only have a 2-car garage. Then, the driveway that faces the street can be reduced in width. Or, the Petitioner should explore amending the floor plan so that the driveway and the 3-car garage doors face east towards the alley, and then the driveway can be as wide as the garage doors area. They can also improve/ pave a small section of the alley area from the garage doors out to 2nd Street NW. Window Well Locations Variance Request: The Unified Development Ordinance (UDO Section 5.79.J) requires that Sills, belt courses, window air-conditioning units, window wells, cornices, and ornamental features may project into a required yard a distance not to exceed twenty-four (24) inches. The proposed window wells will encroach 42” into the 5-ft wide side yard building setback. The window wells will be located within 3.17 feet of the south side property line, which leaves enough room for site maintenance and access without trespassing on to the neighbor’s property. This is a variance of 18 inches, or 75% increase. The proposed North window well for the Open Living Games/Bar room does not need variance approval; it will comply with the UDO regulations. 9 of 9 The proposed SouthWest window well is required since it is for a Bedroom. It will project out 3-ft from the house wall and be 7.5’ wide. However, the proposed SouthEast window well is for a Fitness Room, and it is not required, so it can be eliminated or made smaller in size. (Right now, it is proposed to be 3.3’ deep and 7.7’ wide.) Regarding window wells, the Building Code only requires a minimum of 3-ft deep egress, or a total of 9 sq. ft. for egress, with a horizontal projection and width of not less than 36 inches (3 ft). A Fitness Room will not require an egress window per the building code, unless it’s the only room in the basement, and then the basement needs at least one egress window. A window well can be any size, unless it’s the only window in the basement; then, it needs to be 3’ deep minimum. For the window well grates/covers, the Petitioner will most likely install something similar to a black metal grate looking window well cover. (Window well coverings or guards are not necessarily required by the building code, in this instance. Building Height Variance Request: The Unified Development Ordinance (UDO Section 3.64.C.11) requires that Buildings shall not exceed the height of the tallest dimension of the nearest two (2) Character Buildings by more than seven (7) feet. So, based on the heights of the nearest two Character Buildings to the subject site, this proposed house can be 30-ft tall. However, the Petitioner requests a house height of 31’- 9 3/8”. This is a variance of 1’- 9 3/8”, or a 5.9% increase. Final Staff Comments: The Planning Dept. does not support six variance requests for one site. The culmination of all of these variance requests makes the project unsupportable. It can be interpreted that too much is proposed for this site and that this proposal is not appropriate for the neighborhood. This appears to be a suburban “McMansion” house project in scale and massing, trying to fit onto an urban lot in the Old Town Character Subarea. Findings of Fact: The Dept. of Community Services (DOCS) recommends the Board directs legal counsel to prepare negative findings of fact consistent with this decision for adoption by this Board at its next public meeting. Recommendation: The Dept. of Community Services (DOCS) recommends negative consideration of: Docket No. PZ-2021-00154 V Lot Cover, Docket No. PZ-2021-00155 V Garage Setback, Docket No. PZ-2021-00156 V Garage Door Orientation, Docket No. PZ-2021-00157 V Driveway Width, Docket No. PZ-2021-00158 V Window Wells Location, and Docket No. PZ-2021-00159 V Building Height.